Tuesday, October 03, 2006

The Dork Gene

I did not pass down the dork gene to Froggy. I know this because she is already way cooler than I ever was.

The other night during treatment I turned the channel to our local PBS station, needing a break from our kids videos. The Lawrence Welk show was on. I watched this program with my grandparents as a kid and LOVED the big hair, blue eyeshadow and cheesy songs where everyone harmonizes perfectly, and the set is lit with a fuzzy, lavender hue, like you're watching someone's dream, or a Shakespearean play set in a forest where lovers woo. Okay, so I liked Lawrence Welk. And I still do.

Froggy, however, did not inherit this gene and went on a desperate quest for the remote control. I swear, I swear, she was trying to change the channel. And when I finally submitted and switched it to Sesame Street, she looked at me like, "What were you thinking, mom. I mean, really?"

Froggy already has eclectic taste in music and prefers a much cooler genre. I love Folk music and usually play it during dinner. About a week ago, Miss Crabbypants was protesting Joni Mitchell, so I put in a mixed CD of FroggyDaddy's. It consisted of The Clash, Adam and the Ants, and The Beastie Boys. She LOVED it, and once again looked at me like, "Can Daddy pick the music from now on?"

I also love Froggydaddy's taste in music, but I hope Froggy embraces the geek in herself someday. Perhaps, after much brainwashing, she will grab the remote, and choose "HEE-HAW" over "The LA Philharmonic" or "The Brady Bunch Variety Show" over "Charlie Rose". We'll see. Until then, we'll rock out to "The Casbah" and jungle beats, and every once in a while, I'll throw in a Blossom Dearie, or Bessie Smith. And she'll just have to deal.

6 comments:

Uh oh. Tallulah *loves* The Lawrence Welk Show. We have 2 taped episodes that she watches over and over. She tries to dance along, twirling and spinning and tapping, throwing her arms and head back, bowing at the end. And she loves Dean Martin and Blossom Dearie ("Give Him the Ooh-La-La" is her theme song), along with Stacie Kent, the Rankins, an Indian (First Nation) drumming group...Oh dear. I prefer to think of it as eccentric instead of dorky...

Monika, I agree, eccentric, rather than 'dorky'. When we walk by the Indian store in Venice, Froggy always loves dancing to drum music. I'll have to invest in some great Native American CD's. And I LOVE "Give Him the Oooh-La La."

Tallulah (translation: Leaping Waters) has a recommendation for Froggy if she is searching for a good drumming cd (it's cool that there is a First Nations store in Venice...but then, it's Venice! :)) -- Check out Bear Creek's "Live" cd. They do a version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...!

Here's some info on them:http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=42720581

I posted a correction yestereday -- it was there, I saw it1 -- and now it has disappered! Blogspot ate my post!

I made a mistake in the name of the Aboriginal drumming group -- the ones who do "Twinkle Twinkle" are actually the Black Lodge Singers (Black Lodge, Bear Creek...Tallulah likes them both, and I get them mixed up -- I am starting to frighten myself with how I forget proper nouns!). They have a kids' powwow album that is quite fun.

If you are ever looking for Aboriginal music for yourself, I recommend Kashtin and Elisapie Isaac.

Kashtin was a Montaignais from Quebec duo singing in Innu. They have now disbanded,and are both pursuing solo careers. Despite being an international success (they were big in Europe, probably because they toured with the Gypsy Kings), their recordings are out of print. I would think that you should find them on the net though... Try to find the song Tshinanu, one of my favourites. It has become the unofficial Innu anthem. The Innu language is very soft and soothing, and I just love listening to it.

Elisapie Isaac has an incredibly clear and delicately beautiful voice. She is Inuit, and sings in her native tongue as well as in English and French.